Finding Balance

Our culture can seem obsessed with finding “work-life balance.” But for those pursuing creative careers, it can prove challenging simply to find “work-work balance” – that is, how to juggle the work that allows us to survive and the work that feeds our passions.

Allocating our resources of time, money, energy and mind-space can feel particularly daunting at the beginning of our careers. Determining the number of students we accept into our teaching studio so that we still have time to practice – let alone gig – is a balancing act between time and money. Affording ourselves the uninterrupted mind-space to compose can feel expensive when we weigh it against the money we could earn from a second hustle.

In this month’s issue, we look at how musicians can address practical realities and turn them to their advantage.

Musician and financial planner Tad Gray writes an open letter to his two children, both of whom are accomplished performers on track to successful careers, offering encouragement and financial advice at the cusp of their adult lives.

Then, managing editor Elizabeth Nonemaker suggests a reprieve from financial and day-to-day worry with the artist residency, surveying the programs that deliver the biggest bang for your buck.

Joe Brent balances us out with a plunge back into music for music’s sake. Continuing our interview series re/CREATE, he presents Emily Hope Price and her stunning reimagination of “If You Were Here” by the Thompson Twins.